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Tire's For Singletrack

Old 06-10-19, 11:32 AM
  #1  
Hmmm
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Tire's For Singletrack

Help!

I hate to add another tire help thread to the board but here goes..

I run Maxxis Rambler 40's on a Giant TCX. I enjoy single track and at the end of a longer ride out on single track or keeping up with a friend on a hard tail I feel a little bounced around. I understand this is part of riding a cross bike through singletrack etc. I am looking for a larger tire to help me feel less bounced around. Something more forgiving on roots and singletrack I'm willing to go up to 45c on this and want to max out it's large tire potential. I will go 650b at some point, but as of now I will stick with 700c.

Essentially I have one bike and I want to see how I could enjoy these three conditions best:

Road group rides: Clement strada LGG 28's
Allround: Rambler 40's (probably a better allrounder would be Schwalbe G-One but I have these at the moment)
Singletrack/MTB lite: ?

So far I am most curious about the WTB Riddler 45, Resolute 42, Challange Gravel Grinder 42, and the SimWorks Homage 43. Open to all suggestions, please help!

Here is a video of common conditions I ride: https://vimeo.com/336962329

Last edited by Hmmm; 06-10-19 at 01:07 PM.
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Old 06-10-19, 11:40 AM
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I have a set of 45mm Riddlers & they are great off road. I got them cuz I was pushing the envelope for the straight bar hybrid I was torturing off road & they helped a lot! the tires are so good, in fact, that I got a set 2.25" Riddlers for a MTB which is taking over where the other bike left off
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Old 06-10-19, 02:03 PM
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IMO the all-around tire and road tire can be the same but you didn't really ask about that.

Anyway, I use the WTB Resolutes for my monster-cross bike. They're a good tire for singletrack and also have low rolling-resistance on the road. My examples measure 43.5mm wide on Kinlin TL-23 rims. They seem to roll faster than the Riddler despite having what appears to be a more aggressive tread.
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Old 06-13-19, 07:55 AM
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I use a 54mm Thunder Burt - although that is a tight fit. That tire in a 650b would be perfect. 50mm Furious fred works for me too, but has less bite. Its a lot faster though if you don't need that bite.

I have ramblers and G-One. Not sure why you think the tires you don't have would be better - there is not much difference between the two, practically thinking. G-One is slightly better in snow and a little heavier.

If you like those tires, the Rambler is now available in 45mm,

I think a thud buster or similar seat post will make you feel a bit less bounced around. But yes, there is a big difference on single track between a 40mm and a 50mm tires. I'm picking my line carefully with a 40mm, but just running over stuff with 50mm.
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Old 06-14-19, 09:15 AM
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Cool, I appreciate the advice!

I did see the Rambler was available in 45's but couldn't find any purchasing options and I think it would be fun to run something a little bit different.

I ended up getting the WTB Riddler 45's. I want to go as big as I can in a matching tire set. I know people love running a bigger one up front but for me its a symmetry thing? I dunno! Although the resolutes look awesome I wanted to go as big as I could, rolling slower on pavement isn't too much of a concern as when I mount these I will be looking to spend as much time off road as possible. For longer mixed rides with lots of road I have the Ramblers.

I'll post back and let you know how they ride! We'll see which tire stays on the majority of the time. I wonder if the Ramblers will start collecting dust.
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Old 06-14-19, 11:13 AM
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Nice. Yes, keep us updated.
(one reason to go bigger up front is many bikes can't take as big in the rear as they can in the front).
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Old 06-19-19, 01:42 AM
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Rode them for the first time today 30 psi mixed terrain. Windy morning and my last ride was Sunday on 28's so rolling on pavement felt sluggish, even on smooth gravel I felt sluggish. Single track and technical terrain was great. Huge advantage over the Maxxis Ramblers. Which is great. This is what I was looking for. It was nice to roll over roots and branches that I would normally avoid. This will be a good tire to hang with MTB riders around here. I was also worried it would make my Ramblers obsolete but now I realize how fast of a tire the Rambler is.

It'll be interesting to see how often I use these. I think any ride where I'm spending a lot of time on single track or more technical terrain these will be great. If its a mix of smooth gravel and pavement the Ramblers will be put on.

I realize that any of these tires are a luxury, fun to play around with them and have some options. I think with these, 40c Ramblers and 28c road tires I'm set.

Thanks for the advice guys!



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Old 06-19-19, 06:49 AM
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fun! & I agree they're not for pavement. play with the pressure tho, I find they are responsive to small changes. but, hmmm, they don't look exactly like mine. your side knobs are smaller & your sidewalls are a different color. looks like they changed the design (or maybe they have different sub-models?) these are my 45mm Riddlers on a cheap hybrid













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Old 06-19-19, 07:03 AM
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these are my 2.25" Riddlers on my cheap MTB





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Old 06-19-19, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
IMO the all-around tire and road tire can be the same but you didn't really ask about that.

Anyway, I use the WTB Resolutes for my monster-cross bike. They're a good tire for singletrack and also have low rolling-resistance on the road. My examples measure 43.5mm wide on Kinlin TL-23 rims. They seem to roll faster than the Riddler despite having what appears to be a more aggressive tread.
Agree, 42 mm Resolutes feel better than 37 mm Riddlers in every way.
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Old 06-23-19, 03:09 PM
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I've been enjoying Terrene Elwood 650bx47mm tires (the tough version):


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